Happy New Year

We hope you have a wonderful and Happy New Year!! We are looking forward to 2009. 2008 was a good year, but it was also a hard year for us. Our good friends, Karl Weaver and Sue Cox, passed away this year. We know that they are with our Heavenly Father now, and that is a comfort to us, but we still miss them very much. Remember to pray for their families as they begin a new year without those they love.

I've added a few silly pics of the kids that we've taken this week with my new camera. I'll be posting some more silly ones from our church's annual talent show later on, too. God bless you and yours in 2009!!

Johnny is Going Home Today

Johnny gets to go to home today!! What a wonderful day for him! God is so awesome, isn't He? They are giving him some more blood and some antibiotics he'll take home in an IV for a week. Darlene asked that we pray for Friday. They will be meeting with their head doc to talk about his future treatment. There are a lot of decisions to make, so please keep praying for all of them to have wisdom. I probably won't have an update on him until then, so no news will mean good news on here! :) Something else, I wanted to add...while I was there yesterday, Darlene was still ministering to other moms up there, comforting them, checking up on their kids, etc. She is such a great mom, and a wonderful witness in a world none of us can really go. I told her she is like a missionary up on that floor, and so is Johnny. :) It's an amazing thing to see.

Saw Johnny

I took TJ and Joey up to the hospital today to spend time with Johnny. We ended up being there for about 7 hours or so! Darlene and I spent a lot of time doing a fitness walk they have set up in the bowels of the hospital. Pretty cool! TJ and Joey and Johnny played cards and gave the nurses a hard time. It was wonderful to see them laughing and having a good time. Bill, Darlene and I went out to get the guys their dinner and so we ate while we were out. Theron would have come, but had to go to the dentist for an abcess. :( Darlene and I did about 3 miles on the fitness walk, so the guys could have time without us in there. It was a great day!! God is an awesome God. He brought Johnny back from the brink and it is great to see him laughing and being Johnny. :) Keep on praying for him, as he is still working on beating this cancer.

Johnny is Doing Better

Just a quick update. I talked with Darlene this morning, between Sunday School and church. Johnny is feeling even better today. He is still tired, and is getting more blood today. They took all of the extra lines out of his hands, so that means they are expecting him to continue to do well. He is maintaining his blood pressure on his own. His heart rate did get low, but everything is back to normal. Now, it is just regaining his strength and get his blood built back up so he can go home. He didn't want TJ and Joey to come up today, as he is still tired and will be getting blood all day. He is really wanting to get home. Please pray for the doctors to have wisdom on the track they need to take to beat the cancer without killing Johnny. Bill will be back in VA this evening and will be staying at the Ronald McDonald House next to the hospital where Johnny and Darlene are. Thanks for all your prayers on their behalf.

Johnny is Getting Stronger!

Johnny is now off of dopamine (sp?). He is able to hold his blood pressure steady without it. It all started turning around during our church service and then really started steadying out the hour after church was out. Miracle!! They doctor's were making a place for him in the PICU as he was in that downward spiral that they all know, but he didn't have to go. He took himself off of a few monitors this morning, and got up and sat in a chair. He is now sitting up (not sure if in bed or in a chair) and doing well. He wants to go home, but the doctors want to monitor him and make sure he is steady. He still isn't ready for visitors. They are still trying to figure out where the infection came from, so they should find out today. He still doesn't have an immune system, as whatever this is is eating up his blood. Darlene said Johnny's spirit is so sweet and quiet. She said he is very humbled by what has happened and is very thankful for how God brought him out of all that. She said it was the best Christmas she's ever had. Just being with him and relishing the time they had together. Bill was with his mom all day, as she was here for Christmas. He wanted to be with Darlene and Johnny, but had to help his mom. But Darlene said she got her Christmas miracle and she is so thankful. She said thanks for praying. It meant a lot to her that Pastor, Kenny and Mike brought her all those names of who was at church praying. She knows there were many more who weren't able to make it who were praying, too. That was such a testimony to the doctors and nurses! Thanks, again, for your prayers for them. I think that is everything she told me....she was just so excited when I called this morning, because he is off the dopamine, and that was a big step. She was so thankful he held through the night and that he is improving. Keep praying!!

More Christmas Day 08

Here are a few more pictures. I'm still tinkering with my new camera. It has a lot of neat features that I need to get used to using.

Sam on the computer in the library

Theron preparing the ham for dinner

My roses from our anniversary are really opening up beautifully! I am so grateful for such a thoughtful husband!

Christmas Sunset

TJ, Sam, Chrissy, Joey & Mary playing Quelf. A CRAZY new game!

Christmas Day

Merry Christmas!! Happy Birthday, Jesus!

We got up around 730 and went to work opening our gifts. We had fun and everyone enjoyed their new 'toys'. Theron had me open my main one first, as it was a new Nikon CoolPix P80 camera. It takes GREAT pictures. The kids were like, "Thanks, Dad, now she'll never stop shooting pics of us!" haha

TJ & Chrissy opening up their stockings


Mary & Sam opening up their stockings



Passing out the gifts
Theron opening up his gifts. Sam bought him that hat, then realized it had a sticker on it that said "Women's One Size Fits All". So, I got a new hat, and will get Theron another one!

Me with a gift from Mary and my other gifts around me

TJ with his new Ipod Touch

The messy family room after the gifts are opened

Sam and her new cell phone

Christmas Eve Pics

Here are a few pictures we took this week. Sunday was our 23rd anniversary. We went to church, then took the kids with us (first time ever on our anniversary) to dinner at our friend, Choi's, Korean Restaurant. This picture was taken than morning by our family photographer, Heather van Hoven! She has taken it for us for the past few years, so Theron has deemed her our official photographer. Thanks, Heather. The check is in the mail!! :)

Our family tradition is to go to Cracker Barrel on Christmas Eve morning. It is something my family did since I was a teenager. Theron and I liked that tradition, so have made it our own.

Here we are getting ready to chow down!

The waitress took this one, but cut Sam off, so that's why there are two of these.

We took these last night at church before the service. I was going to take more after the service, but we found out Johnny wasn't doing well, and didn't feel like taking any more pictures. Sorry, Sam, I'll get more of you this week with my new camera!!

Mary & Chrissy

Chrissy, Mary, & Nancy




Theron & Nancy

Here we are again!

Mary & Heather playing the prelude

TJ playing around on the piano at church

On Christmas Eve, the kids open gifts from the kids' aunts and uncles AND their Christmas Jammies from Theron & me.
TJ with his gift from Aunt Jo and Uncle Dave

Mary & Chrissy with some of their gifts

Sam and Theron with some of their gifts, isn't he so cute?

Darlene Called Yah!

Johnny is steadily improving. His temperature is down and his blood pressure is holding steady with the help of medications. He still can't have visitors, but is doing so much better. Pastor Reid went to see them last night and took a big list of signatures from people at church last night who said they would be praying for Johnny. Darlene showed it to the doctor who was on duty at first last night when she came back on this morning. She saw that Johnny was not in the PICU. The doctor looked at all the names and said, "Well, I guess I can't discount that, can I?" Pretty awesome!! Johnny started turning around last night while we were at church. Darlene is so thankful for all those who are praying. I told her those lists don't even show everyone, because there were people all over the nation praying, too, who didn't get to sign the list!
We hope to get up to see him later today if he can have visitors, but if not, we'll just keep celebrating his turnaround. Thanks, again, for your prayers!

Praise the Lord

I just heard from Joey. He said that Johnny is on an upward spiral, and that the doctors are impressed!! I will update more when I hear. Thanks, again, for your prayers.

Johnny Update

Johnny is still in the hospital. He has stablilized, so they haven't had to put him into the ICU. Please continue to keep him in your prayers. They said there is some kind of infection in his body, so they are blanket bombing him with antibiotics. His blood pressure has come back up (it got really low). He is turning for the better now. I will keep you posted as I hear from Darlene. Keep praying!! We have a big God!!

Pray for Johnny

Hi, just a quick prayer request. Johnny has a fever of 101.1...anytime it goes over 101 they have to take him to the hospital. According to Joey, they are on their way now. I'll keep you posted. Thanks for your prayers.

Happy 23rd Anniversary

Theron and I were married on Saturday, December 21st, 1985. He chose that date, because our first date was on December 21st (1982). It is funny how time is....it seems like yesterday in a lot of ways. I don't feel much different than I did then, but know I've changed when I look at these pics. haha I love you, Theron, and am so grateful to have you as my husband. We've had a lot of fun, and I am looking forward to the future with you.

This is our wedding party.

Here we are in our receiving line. I am not sure what Theron and I were talking about, but my mom thought it was funny. She just loved Theron!

Theron feeding me a piece of cake. He was very nice and didn't smash it in my face or anything!


Here we are entering the hotel. We left Sarasota the next day to live in High Rolls, NM.

In the Mustang

Through a few unusual circumstances, Theron and I ended up taking TJ, Sam and Mary with us to church in the Mustang. The backseat was NOT meant for 3 people!! They were rather cramped all the way to church.

I love TJ's face in this one.

Fun Stuff in December

We have been busy this week. Samantha and Chrissy made cookies for Sam's teachers on Thursday evening. On Friday, Theron and I took Mary and Chrissy to dinner and a movie. We came home and made cookies. It was a neat night. Theron also had roses delivered to me on Friday in celebration of our 23rd anniversary on the 21st!! He is so thoughtful.

Yum, Yum
Sugar cookies and gingerbread train

Chrissy being silly, not sure WHERE she gets that!!

My Roses

Mary & Nathan

Mary and Chrissy are home from college now and we are so enjoying having them home. Mary loves to cook, and Chrissy enjoys housework, so I am not having to work as hard as I normally do to keep the house going. It is GREAT!This doesn't look as appetizing in this pic as it actually did. She made up her own recipe for steak fajita stew/chili. I thought she was doing Taco Soup, but she ended up doing her own thing. It was GREAT,but super super spicy. She also made cheese quesadillas.

Mary & Nathan

Mary babysat for Nathan, the little boy who I babysat for his first year. He is so sweet and funny and VERY smart. He had us laughing all day long.

Chrissy and I went shopping while he was here, and brought home some small Christmas gifts for him. He was so excited!

We brought out some of TJ's old toys and Nathan had a good time playing with them.

Nathan loves playing Wii, so he played against all of us at some point during the day.

White Elephant Party TBC

Every year Temple Baptist Church has a White Elephant Gift Exchange for the all the adults in the church. It is always tons of fun!! Pastor Reid is the Emcee for the night, and he does an outstanding job. He is hilarious!! Here are a few pictures from this year's party.

Jon Blakemore was pushing around Landon and Mikaela around and somehow TJ ended up on it, too.

Michael joined in the fun, too. I wonder if TJ would like one of these for Christmas!!